Backfire
by BookCaseGirl
Summary: Fourth part to "Time Passed" series.
1. Visit

Junior had a plan made. He would go to Raintree and talk to Kris. Even if she'd moved on, he could at least apologize and reconcile a friendship, if not more. Maybe she would be incredibly upset, and he knew Kris was stubborn, but maybe after all that they had been through she could forgive him somehow. Despite her stubbornness, Kris had a big heart and could forgive when she wanted to.

He turned into Raintree's gates and took a deep breath, letting it out. His mind flashed back to before he'd left. So much had happened that made him angry. He wasn't even sure if he was still mad at them, at Matt. They had taken her away from him, and that was a grudge he wasn't sure he was ready to let go of.

He stopped the car in the same spot where he had parked the last night and turned it off. He sulked down in his seat for a moment, but then sat up straighter, preparing himself for what was to come. He imagined any and probably every situation that could occur. Once he was sure he had prepared adequately, he opened the door and walked briskly up to the front door of the Ritter household.

He knocked, maintaining outstanding composure, considering how nervous he was. So many thoughts were racing around in his head. What if Kris answers? Oh god, what if Matt answers? What if _they're_ still together? He saw a shadow come and made himself stay there, not back away like a coward.

He watched the doorknob turn as if in slow-motion, the door opening to reveal a companion he hadn't seen in so many years.

Matt looked different, scruffy, with a beard. His curly, unruly hair had grown long again and he had a sleepy looking face. Junior began to get more nervous as Matt sized him up, looking at how much he had changed. He got more uncomfortable and was sure that this was showing now.

"Uh, I came to see if Kris was here," Junior told him looking around his wandering eyes to see inside of the house. He tried to step in, but Matt stepped directly in front of him, blocking his path.

"She's not here. Left a few years ago. I'm sure you're just about as welcome in her house as you are in this one," he said harshly glaring at his former friend.

Honestly, he had thought he was dead. That their relationship had been too much for him to handle and he had offed himself. It was a horrible thing for a "best friend" to think, but over those eight years, it had become more and more easy to believe.

Kris had broken up with him as soon as she'd found out she was pregnant. Somehow, it was Junior's baby. He still didn't want to think about that conversation. He couldn't think about it. It was so hard for him not to punch Junior right then and there, but Junior didn't know. He couldn't know. No one knew where he was, what he had done for that period of time. It was as if he were a hermit, being solitary with no contact with his long-time friends and family, not even Dani.

"Well, can you at least tell me where to find her, please Matt?" Junior asked with a pleading face.

"1392 Stoneledge Drive," he said as he shut the door in Junior's face and stalked back up the stairs loud enough for Junior to hear from outside.

I need to apologize to him later, Junior thought. Kris is the most important person right now. He got into his car and took out a map, finding the address of Kris' new home. As he drove off, he wondered if what he was doing would, yet again, backfire on him.


	2. Revelation

He walked out in a huff, slamming the door behind him. What Kris had just told him was unbelievable. He had caused Junior to hate Kris, to ignore her, to pretty much forget she had existed. Now he was finding out that she was carrying Junior Davis' baby? There was just no way. It had to be a lie. And how the hell was she going to tell Junior? Surely not with his help. He wouldn't be any part of their lives, ever.

As he slammed the door of his car, his mind wandered back to the conversation he and Kris had just had.

**FLASHBACK**

_He walked in and saw her sitting on the couch. As he approached her and got closer, he saw that she had been crying. Her eyes her red and puffy and she sniffled every now and then. His first instinct was to run to her side and comfort her, to try to protect her from whatever or whoever was causing her this pain. _

_He sat down next to her and rubber her back consolingly. "Kris, what's wrong?" Matt asked her, extremely concerned about her feelings._

_Kris sobbed, unable to get out what she was about to force herself to say. "I c-can't. I c-" Kris broke into another fit of sobbing and hysterical crying._

"_What? What can't you do sweetheart?"_

"_Matt, please, don't be so caring and sweet. That is the last thing that I deserve right now. I can't- I can't tell you what I'm about to tell you, but I have to."_

"_You can tell me. I promise you that, Kris. You can tell me anything and everything. If something is making you feel bad, I wanna hear about it so I can fix it. I love you, Kris, and I hate to see you in pain," Matt told her making her meet his eyes._

"_I-I. Well- Y-You see, I'm pregnant-"Kris started but Matt cut her off._

"_Pregnant!? Why would you be crying about that? Th-That's great! I mean I-I know we aren't married or anything, but this is great, Kris. We'll have to get a house, I mean if we plan on-" Matt began to rant about what he thought would be their future together._

"_Matt, stop. It's Junior's. There was a night right after we got together and we used a condom, but I guess it didn't work. I mean, I never meant for this to happen, Matt. I am so, so sorry and I understand if you hate me and never want to speak to me again," Kris told him._

"_You have _got_ to be kidding me," Matt said. He couldn't take this. He had to get out. He stood up with as much calm as a man in his state could muster and walked out. Matt was beyond pissed. Junior would be dead in two minutes flat, if only he could find him. He'd gone missing, leaving no trace of anything that even resembled a Junior-like being behind._

**END FLASHBACK**

Matt's speed was increasing rapidly. He accelerated into a turn at an intersection, not even paying attention to the color of the light ahead of him. The next thing he knew, everything went black. A car had hit his side of the car, injuring him critically. It would be a while before anyone found out where he was, or what his condition was. For all the people around him knew, the strange man in the Ford F-150 was dead.


	3. IMPORTANT NOTE

**A/N: ** IGNORE THE LAST CHAPTER PLEASE! IT WAS A REPEAT OF SOMETHING I PUT IN ANOTHER STORY! STUPID, I'M STUPID THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE TECHNICALLY CHAPTER 3!! SRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE!


	4. Chapter 3: Life

**A/N:** Okay, so I FINALLY got this stupid author's note up. A lot of you have been asking about how I'm writing this story. Or why I'm doing the different chapters as different stories. The way it works is that the different parts of the series are written in the present and going forward. The chapters that are added to these parts are flashbacks, explaining things that were briefly mentioned, but could've been explained more. I hope that makes sense and I'm glad so many of you like what I'm doing. Enjoy!

P.S. The chapter I had posted before was a repeat! I apologize for my stupidness! Enjoy!

Matt woke up, very disoriented. He looked around him at the bad-smelling room and realized he was in a hospital. The thing was, he couldn't remember much of what had happened to get him into the hospital. He knew he was in a car accident. He looked at his arms and waved them, the right one cast-clad. He sat up and looked around to find that although there was no one in the room, there were flowers everywhere.

He didn't know how long he had been awake before the nurse came in. "Ah, you're awake. It's about time, Mister," the older lady said. Her hair was in a ponytail and she looked like she had seen a lot of people in this hospital not wake up. He was glad that he wasn't one of them.

"Well, you seem fine. You've been asleep for quite a few days. A lady came in and saw you. Cried her eyes out the entire time. We had to drag her outta here," she said as she looked at his vitals and checked his pulse. Everything seemed fine so she walked out to get the doctor.

Matt was left there, wondering who the lady was. Was it his mom or Kris? He stiffly got up out of the uncomfortable bed and walked over to look at the flowers. He saw some from Pablo and his mother. He saw cards from grandparents, and aunts and uncles as well. Another vase of tulips was from his father, saying that he was sorry he couldn't be there.

He looked to the end of the table of gifts and saw a small cup, holding just one single geranium. Under it lay a card, crisp and unopened. It was in a cream envelope and had a scrawly script on it that spelled out _Matt._

He limped down there and picked up the card. It wasn't sealed and smelled of a perfume that hadn't entered his nose in ages. He took out the card and opened it. Out fell a piece of paper, that looked to continue a long, almost four-page letter. He read it and a tear fell from his face. She wrote to him. She gave him a single flower. He could tell from the words that she wrote that she was worried.

Just then, he noticed there was someone else in the room and he turned around, briskly wiping the tear from his eye. He found a middle-aged man that looked to be a doctor, with his white coat and stethoscope in trail of him.

"Mr. Ritter, it is really a pleasure to finally be able to meet you formally. You'll need to sit for me to evaluate you though, I'm sorry to say. By the way, my name is Dr. Lathem," the man said as he approached Matt.

Matt sat down on the bed and sat still while the man looked at him, examining him. He put a flashlight in his eyes and asked him some routine questions, like what his name was and where he lived. He passed that test with flying colors and then they talked briefly.

"Matt, you really are lucky to be alive. That truck came at you at 70 m.p.h, and you should be dead right now. Someone up there must really love you," the doctor said and walked out of the room.

Matt stared after him. He hadn't used his real voice yet. The only one he'd used was a flat one that sounded nothing like him. He was afraid that he wouldn't go back to the old Matt Ritter, and that thought frightened him greatly. As the man walked down to the nurses' station, Matt thought about what he had said. He realized now that he really was lucky. His life was something he wouldn't take for granted anymore. Something he would value greatly.


End file.
